It's All I Can Do
| "It's All I Can Do" | ||||||||||||
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| Single by The Cars | ||||||||||||
| from the album Candy-O | ||||||||||||
| B-side |
"Got a Lot on My Head" "Candy-O" (UK) | |||||||||||
| Released | September 25, 1979 | |||||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||||
| Genre | New wave | |||||||||||
| Length | 3:45 | |||||||||||
| Label | Elektra 46546 | |||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Ric Ocasek | |||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker | |||||||||||
| The Cars singles chronology | ||||||||||||
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"It's All I Can Do" is a song by the American rock band The Cars. It is the third track from their 1979 album Candy-O. It was written by the band's leader and songwriter Ric Ocasek, and features the bassist, Benjamin Orr, on vocals.
Sound and genre
According to Brett Milano, writer of the Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology album notes "'It's All I Can Do' was an affecting, straight-ahead piece of romantic pop, give or take a line like 'When I was crazy, I thought you were great.'"[1] The track was described as "gentle" by AllMusic reviewer Greg Prato, while Hamish Champ, writer of The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s called the song "laidback".[2]
The bass lines and the G major guitar riffs have a major rock feel, but the song is softened down with Benjamin Orr's vocals and Greg Hawkes keyboard and synth lines.
Release
"It's All I Can Do" was released as the follow-up to the "Let's Go" single on September 25, 1979, backed with "Got a Lot on My Head" in the U.S. and Canada, and with "Candy-O" in Britain. Although the song did not reach the Top 20 standard of its predecessor, it reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] A third and final single from Candy-O, "Double Life", failed to chart.
Reception
"It's All I Can Do" has generally received positive reception from critics. Prato said that "'It's All I Can Do' ... deserved to be a hit," while Champ said the track (as well as its predecessor, "Let's Go,") "give ample evidence of the band's range."[2] William Ruhlmann, author of The All-Music Guide to Rock, said "'It's All I Can Do' hit as well [as 'Let's Go']", and in the Billboard review of Candy-O, the song was chosen as one of the "best cuts".[2] In a negative review, Tom Carson of Rolling Stone said, "'It's All I Can Do' calculatedly recycles the 'Just What I Needed' hook but to less-telling effect. It's simply cold."[2]
B-side
The B-side of "It's All I Can Do" is "Got a Lot on My Head", another track from Candy-O. In a review of Candy-O, AllMusic reviewer Greg Prato says the band "rocks out on 'Got a Lot on My Head' and 'Night Spots'".[4]
Other appearances
- "It's All I Can Do" was featured in the 1998 film The Wedding Singer, and included on the film's second soundtrack, titled Wedding Singer 2.[5]
- Electronic rock/new wave revival band The Bravery covered the song in 2005 as the B-side to their single "Fearless". Their cover was later included in Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars, a 2005 multi-artist collaborative album distributed by Not Lame Recordings.[6]
Personnel
- Benjamin Orr: Lead vocals, bass guitar
- Ric Ocasek: Rhythm guitar
- Elliot Easton: Lead guitar
- Greg Hawkes: Keyboard, synthesizer
- David Robinson: Drums
Chart performance
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 41 |
References
- ↑ Milano, Brett (1995). Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology (Media notes). The Cars. Rhino Records.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Candy-O album reviews". www.superseventies.com.
- ↑ "The Cars: Charts & Awards: Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ↑ Prato, Greg. "The Cars: Candy-O". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ↑ "The Cars: It's All I Can Do". allmusic. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-tribute-to-the-cars-substitution-mass-confusion-r730652
- ↑ "The Cars - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
External links
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